Walker wrapped up the first half of season 3 with a Thanksgiving-themed episode that was far from jolly.
Everything that could go wrong absolutely did, and it was proof that sometimes, a big family celebration is more chaos than anyone needs it to be.
The biggest issue at the dinner table wasn’t the mediocre dinner—Cordell and Liam tried but a blackout while cooking dinner isn’t ideal!—it was the fact that Cordell was hellbent on pretending everything was okay when it actually wasn’t.
Cordell’s parenting has been questionable as of late, and it’s very clear that he’s out of his element when it comes to raising two teenagers while also juggling a demanding job and dealing with the fallout of a kidnapping by a rogue militia group that tortured him and his brother.
His version of dealing with issues is simply sweeping them under the rug, particularly on Thanksgiving, when his one and only goal was to persuade Stella to stop by for dinner so that he could try to make amends.
Unfortunately, it was a terrible plan because he never acknowledge the root cause of the issue, nor did he consider Stella’s feelings and why she moved out in the first place.
Did Cordell really think that she would just forgive him after he placed all the blame from the Side Step party on her and then left her in jail to deal with the consequences of her actions? Time and time again, Stella conveyed to her father that she wasn’t the one responsible for throwing the party, but he didn’t listen. Cordell channeled all the anger and trauma he’s been repressing directly at his daughter, which was unfair and misguided. He didn’t give her a chance to explain herself, nor did he care to hear her out. He made up his mind, and that was that.
It’s hard to feel bad for Cordell in this situation as it was completely of his own making, and he didn’t even realize it or try to apologize for it when he invited Stella for dinner.
August has been a grade-A brat for quite some time now, and honestly, I find his behavior a little alarming and unexpected. I guess it makes sense that he wants to find his own identity after being in his sister’s shadow the whole time, and yes, teens will be teens, but it’s also unlike him to let his sister take the fall for something she didn’t do. He’s watched how her relationship with Cordell was fractured because of a mistake he made and he still didn’t confess to his involvement. That’s not like Auggie.
Everyone else in the house seemed to be aware that Auggie was the mastermind behind the Side Step party, and when Stella showed Cordell that they lost the liquor license as a result, Mawline finally put it all out on the table as she realized her son didn’t have it handled the way he kept assuring everyone he did.
She couldn’t sit by and watch Stella get hammered with a lesson about consequences as an adult while Auggie skirted by and frankly, looked pleased with himself. And that’s when Auggie made the dire mistake of calling Abeline the B-word. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back and the wake-up call Walker needed to realize that he’s thrown a blind eye to so much.
His apology to Stella afterward didn’t really stick, and the fact that she kept Colton by her side because she didn’t want to be alone with her own father made it clear just how fractured their relationship has become.
As for his discipling on Auggie, it was non-existent, which continued to be frustrating in light of how he treated Stella. It’s unclear where they go from here, but the first part of making amends was apologizing to his grandmother.
Unfortunately, he might not get the chance as in the final moments of the episode we saw Abby, who underwent a world of stress during the day, especially as it marked the anniversary of her mother’s death and her fallout with her own brother, Will, collapse to the ground. Was it a heart attack? We won’t know until the series comes back in 2023, but I truly hope that she’s okay! Abby is the heart of this family!
The Walker dinner had a handful of guests, including Captain James, who informed Cordell that at some point, he needed to talk to him and Cassie about something serious. It seems that James knows that they tampered with evidence, but that’s an issue for a different day.
Cassie invited the Chief of Staff to the Mayor, Kevin, over for dinner, and while it wasn’t the kind of evening anyone expected, he was eating it up! Turns out, Kevin always wanted to see what happens at a big family dinner, and the Walker family did not disappoint. I’m eager to explore a romantic storyline for Cassie.
Geri was missing as we saw her go on a trip to take care of some business involving Hoyt. In reality, Odette Annable is on maternity leave, but I can’t wait for the series to once again address her relationship with Cordell.
As for Liam, he was so nervous the whole evening as he wanted to impress Ben and tell him just how thankful he is to have him in his life. They had quite a sweet moment before deciding to leave all of this behind and head over to the store for some Black Friday deals, and truthfully, isn’t that the most realistic storyline ever?
Overall, the episode was a nice reprieve from all the Texas Ranger action that’s been happening throughout the season. It connected back to what’s at the core of the show—family—even when it’s an absolute mess.
What did you think of the eventful Walker finale? What are you hoping to see next season?